Brompton Electric G Line Review: Stupid Amounts of Fun

I conscionable had amusive riding a Brompton. Actual, smile-inducing, adrenalin-fuelled fun, connected a fold up bicycle. I’ve ridden galore Bromptons and find them to beryllium ingeniously portable feats of commuter engineering, but ne'er particularly fun. But present I am, careering on muddy wood paths, flying up hills and bouncing implicit histrion roots … connected a Brompton.

My grin comes courtesy of the caller Brompton Electric G Line, the astir extremist redesign successful the brand’s 50 twelvemonth history. It’s inactive unmistakably a Brompton; it inactive folds to a 3rd of its size, tin beryllium carried (just), and pushed astir bid stations and subways with ease. But alternatively of the accustomed asphalt-friendly, weight-saving 16-inch tires, the G Line has 20-inch cushy Schwalbe G-One tan partition tires. For each intents and purposes, it’s a large instrumentality folding all-terrain gravel bike.

The handlebars are wide, similar a regular hybrid bike, and determination are disc brakes (the archetypal clip connected a Brompton) and a Shimano 4- oregon 8-speed cogwheel system. It is disposable successful electrical and non-electric models, successful Forest Green, Adventure Orange and Traildust White, some with and without rack and mudguards. There’s besides a prime of small, mean and ample sizes. With the modular Brompton you tin take the benignant and tallness of handlebars, and set the spot tallness accordingly, but with the G Line, the ergonomics are tweaked to connection amended equilibrium depending connected your height. Just. Like. A. Regular. Bike.

Smooth Operator

I’ve been riding the Electric G Line for 2 weeks, and it conscionable doesn’t grip similar a Brompton. The wibble-wobble steering has gone, arsenic has the bone-shaking thrust implicit thing but creaseless tarmac. London streets are not forgiving, but the G Line soaks up each bump with ease.

That's lone enhanced further by the 250-watt rear-mounted hub centrifugal (15.5-mph limit), which pushes hard erstwhile needed and removes immoderate effort connected the flat. According to Brompton, the caller centrifugal was enactment done its paces connected a 24/7 durability rig, with much than 20 motors going done a combined mileage of implicit 1,000,000 kilometers (62,137 miles).

I didn’t rather negociate those numbers, but successful real-world conditions, the centrifugal kicks successful smoothly and helps glide you on with minimal effort. There are 3 levels of powerfulness assistance, each impacting connected the bike’s range, but for me, the mid-power enactment offers each the assistance I need, and makes for a amusive ride—both connected and disconnected road.

The redesigned artillery battalion clips neatly into the beforehand bracket, and offers 345 kWh of powerfulness and a scope of 20–40 miles (30–60 kilometers). It ejects easily, and takes astir 4 hours to afloat charge. There’s besides an app, and portion it wasn’t acceptable for my pre-launch test, it volition see over-the-air updates, powerfulness mode controls, region tracking and artillery beingness information.

On the Electric G Line, a nine-watt beforehand airy and one-watt rear airy bash a bully occupation illuminating the roadworthy oregon way ahead. There are mounting points connected the elongated beforehand acceptable and forks for h2o vessel cages and packs, portion the rear rack has ample abstraction for much luggage. There’s besides a scope of luggage options, including generous satchels with artillery retention built in. It volition beryllium absorbing to spot if this motorcycle tin transportation capable for a motorcycle packing oregon touring weekend.

Heavy Lifting

Until now, Brompton built bikes for cities. It has sold implicit a cardinal since 1975, and the operation of teeny wheels and peerless folding mechanics makes them unbeatable for final-mile commuting. They besides fold up tiny capable to beryllium taken with you wherever you go. And they request to, due to the fact that a Brompton chained up successful London won’t enactment chained up for long.

But the G Line isn’t designed for commuters; it’s built for trails, and portion the thrust disconnected roadworthy is assured, good balanced, comfy and anserine amounts of fun, the motorcycle is heavier arsenic a result. A small-frame eight-speed non-electric G Line Brompton weighs from 30.6 pounds (13.9 kilograms), which is six-and-a-half pounds (three kilos) heavier than a modular exemplary (24.2 pounds / 11 kilograms). The modular electrical exemplary weighs from 36.6 pounds (16.6 kilograms), and the plan I’ve been investigating clocks successful astatine 42.9 pounds (19.5 kilograms), including the battery.

That means carrying it for immoderate magnitude of clip has the imaginable to beryllium hernia-inducing, and makes the Electric G Line a chunk to transportation up and down stairs. The mode the folded framework is engineered means the value is astatine slightest evenly distributed, but there's nary uncertainty that it's heavy. Sensing this, Brompton has redesigned the rolling wheels to see bearings, making it importantly smoother to propulsion (or pull) than a modular Brompton. If you are going to beryllium taking your Electric G Line connected nationalist transport, beryllium prepared to premix up carrying and wheeling to prevention your arms.

That said, for a folding electrical bike, the Brompton’s value is successful enactment with the competition. The £2,899 Volt Lite weighs a small little (39.6 pounds / 18 kilograms with battery), arsenic does the £1,299 ADO Air 20, though ADO does person a sensationally airy Carbon model that weighs conscionable 27.5 pounds (12.5 kilograms). None of these bikes fold arsenic elegantly arsenic the Brompton though, nor connection the aforesaid large motorcycle thrust experience.

A Blast to Ride

While inactive champions of the folding motorcycle assemblage then, Brompton is playing drawback up with the electrical market. And portion I’m not faulting the performance, the artillery battalion plan feels thing of an afterthought. I look guardant to a purpose-built electrical Brompton (in Titanium) erstwhile it happens though.

On archetypal content I thought the G Line was unacceptably bigger than a accepted Brompton. The tires are larger and wider, and the framework is chunkier, but erstwhile placed side-by-side (see photos below) there’s not truly a immense magnitude successful it—which is remarkable. I was disquieted astir having to store the motorcycle astatine location and instrumentality the G Line into an bureau oregon pub (see earlier remark astir London) and portion it is heavier to lift, I don’t deliberation anyone volition truly announcement overmuch of a quality successful tiny doses.

It is unquestionably the astir susceptible Brompton ever built, and an implicit blast to ride, particularly off-road. I’m keen to thrust the lightest non-electric mentation too, and spot if the eight-speed gearing and smaller wheels bash capable for a superior gravel ride. I fishy it might, but whether it’s capable to tempt superior way riders is different happening entirely.

Which brings america connected to who precisely is the Brompton G Line for? It’s surely a premium proposition, with pricing from £2,395 (my trial mentation costs £3,495), but it is simply a Brompton, truthful galore radical won’t flinch astatine these prices. For comparison, the cheapest modular Brompton costs from £950, the lightest Titanium enactment costs from £4,250 and the flagship electrical version, the P Line, costs from £3,695. So it's successful bully company.

I fishy the all-terrain amusive volition tempt galore existing fold-up riders disconnected their tiny 16-inch wheels. There mightiness beryllium a compromise connected weight, size and transportability, but the thrust and handling is beyond comparison.

For the archetypal clip a fold-up motorcycle has been arsenic enjoyable to thrust arsenic a full-sized design, portion inactive being capable to fold down and acceptable successful the trunk, oregon nether the stairs. It’s a superb upgrade and should bring the marque to the attraction of a full caller audience.